Mini Homestead Happenings for 11/25/2008

We are finished making most of the candles. I am done with my part anyway. Zowie will also be making another type of candle, from a kit, that does not require melting the wax, so I am cleaning up the candle making mess today.

I am beginning to get the trailer picked up for for our Thanksgiving celebration: Picking up the living room and kitchen clutter, cleaning the bathroom and keeping up with the dishes and the laundry.

We had some more snow in the night, but not a lot. The snow is not high out there yet, and I have not had to shovel more than the porch and steps as of yet.

Isaiah is making more gifts for people today, to give to them at the holidays. He has painted small piggy banks for the little ones, and pictures for his older cousins. He is making a door hanger and some sun catcher ornaments today. He is very busy.

I am greatful that I already have most of the winterizing done. We only have two windows left to do, and they can be done from inside the trailer. We have had some very cold days already. Today is a bit warmer than it has been as of late, so I went out for a walk this morning.

I have taken out my copy of The Encyclopedia of Country Living to read again. It was written by Carla Emery, and is packed with great homesteading information. I highly recommend the book. I have decided that I will read it again, because I haven’t done so in a few years.

Another book that I highly recommend is The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzcyn. It has a lot of ideas for cooking from scratch and saving money on all aspects off life. Even though prices in the book do not match up with what prices are today, the overall ideas are still completely usable today.

I have been looking at homestead business idea and goat information this week, and I have had quite a few positive comments with great information that I will be adding to my homestead notebook.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shannon

Working on a Homestead

So, I have been thinking about ways in which I could earn money when I finally get my land and can do homesteading type things on it. Two major things that I plan to do are candle making and soap making. I had been planning on making the soaps from goats milk and herbs that I will grow myself. I was just reading an article on the subject of soap making from a homesteader: http://www.homestead.org/KristenEmbry/MyHomesteadIncome.htm.

My plan would be to do as much work as I could on a variety of things during the winter months, so that I could do the more homesteady, time consuming things like gardening during the summer months. The less business-type things that I had to do during the busiest months, the better.

I have been forming a list of things that I could do using my homesteading skills:

• candle making
• soap making
• bath mixes
• food mixes
• sell access eggs, and animals
• sell compost if I ever have too much
• sell leftover garden produce
• teach baking/cooking skills
• make blankets/quilts/rugs and ornaments to sell
• sell dried herbs and/or herbal teas
• teach canning/food preservation and stocking up

I am not sure what other things that a homesteader could do to earn money. If you have any ideas, I am open to them.

Shannon

Homestead Ponderings, and Winter Prep Updates

So, Phil says he grew up on goats milk and he doesn’t like it so much. I’m guessing that it is a stronger taste than cows milk? I know I like cows milk, having had it as a child. He says goats milk makes great cheese, if you like stronger flavored cheeses. I like mild Cheddar, as well as American, mozzarella and provolone. So, can goats milk give me any of these? Or, should I scrap the goat idea and go with a cow instead? Hmmmm….

It was pretty cold this morning. I could feel it last night, and came out and covered Isaiah with lots of blankets. Zowie and I have lots of blankets on our beds, but he sleeps on the couch. He was grateful, and I told him not to get up in the morning until I had run the furnace, which I wasn’t doing last night.

I think Zowie has finished banking the trailer. I will go out and make sure it has been done properly.

We are set for Halloween, but Isaiah’s mother will be bringing his costume tomorrow and doing his make-up. Both he and Zowie are Trick-or-Treating for Unicef.

I have to find some time to get at making the curtains for the kitchen and the living room. I wish I had more blankets to put in the windows until they are finished.

I will be putting the plastic on the windows soon, so that will be helpful.

I am not always running the furnace. Not yet anyway. Usually it is plenty warm enough in here as long as we are dressed warmly. And at night, we pile the blankets on. Running the furnace to warm the place in the morning, and during evening shower time. This generally seems to be enough. And the dryer is vented under the trailer, which is slightly helpful.

Hope you are all doing well.

Shannon